The Search
by ShisuiUchiha1
Summary: What DID happen to the Hero of Time after he departed on his journey? Why did he never return?
1. The search begins

In the land of Hyrule, there echoed a legend. A legend held dearly by the Royal Family that told of a boy...

A boy who, after battling evil and saving Hyrule, crept away from the land that had made him a legend...

Done with the battles he once waged across time, he embarked on a journey. A secret and personal journey...

A journey in search of a beloved and invaluable friend...

A friend with whom he parted ways when he finally fulfilled his heroic destiny and took his place among legends...

However...

This journey did not go as expected.

Dawn of the First Day. The search begins.

The boy never returned, and many months past without a single sighting. Rumor spread of his disappearance from the land of Hyrule, sparking disbelief and despair. One however, was saddened more by his disappearance.

A girl, but not just any girl. A princess. The Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. The news of the Hero who did not return weighed heavily upon her heart, and she fell into a deep, and dark depression.

"My lady, please...You have not left your room for weeks upon weeks. Your father worries greatly about you, as do I...Will today be the day you finally emerge?" The Sheikah Guardian of the Princess, Impa said sternly, standing in front of the door to the room of the Princess. Nothing could be heard from inside but a single long sigh.

Zelda stared out the window of her room as she had for many weeks, the light filling her cold, empty eyes as the sun began to rise from the horizon, filling her room with sunlight. All she could ever think about was the Hero. A boy she had only met once before, but with a feeling that they had met countless times before, perhaps in another life. She felt a strong emotional attachment to him, and his disappearance worried her. As the sun filled her room, her mind began to wander. Where was he? He had left almost as fast as he had appeared. Is he still alive? Is he dead? He spoke only about a few things. The downfall of Hyrule by the evil thief of the desert, Ganondorf. The Triforce of Power stolen by him in an attempt to conquer the world. By presenting the golden triangle displayed on the back of his left hand, this proof was all it took to convince her. The King had Ganondorf arrested, and sentenced to death in a prison by the desert. The hero only said that he would depart for the forest, to find someone important to him.

This single event set forth into motion certain events that would change the future. Not necessarily for good or bad. It was meant to happen regardless.

The King, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, descendant of good Kings Gustaf, and Daltus, issued a royal decree. An expeditionary search party for the Hero would be formed at once. Any and all willing Hylian men and women would report to the King himself to be outfitted with anything they would need to prepare for the journey.

Many answered this call, but only a select few were chosen for the journey. These few brave men and women knew that they may end up sacrificing their own lives to bring him back, but this fact did not matter to them. This tale revolves around a single one of these select few, a young man named Aegis. Roughly seventeen and a half years old, tall and well-developed. He bore somewhat of a resemblance to the paintings of a Hero inside of the castle. He only brought a few supplies with him, extra-long rope with a grappling hook and shortsword. Before this search group, he was a simple blacksmith's son, attempting to earn money to assist with his father.

"This kid...He's from the forest of the Kokiri, right? How is it that he was able to leave in the first place? I've read that they die the moment they leave the forest..." Said a rather pale, thin woman. Wrapped in Hylian guard armor, with a spear at her back. She looked certainly like a scholar-type, and not a soldier.

"The King sent a search party to Labrynna to the north, and Holodrum to the south. Yet he's sending us into the Lost Woods? Is he crazy? Don't you know what happens there!" A rather short and stocky male spoke out, obviously frightened.

The thin woman in the guard armor spoke up, correcting the short one. "Only fools get lost in those Woods. You aren't a fool, are you? It helps to read up on these things you know..."

Aegis could not be seen, but heard sleeping in the back of a horse-led wagon carrying supplies, and the rest of the search party. Some random event from the day before had exhausted him, and he figured sleeping until they reached their destination wouldn't hurt.

Three more Hylians joined the party, and they departed for the Lost Woods.

Upon reaching the woods, the search party braced themselves, and entered. The sounds of the wagon being led by the horse, the horse's occasional neighing and stomping, and Aegis' snores echoing loudly in the background. The trees only served to further echo the noises. All one could see was the gray fog that eerily laid wake, making visibility a bit poor.

"I can't see a thing...As if the countless trees weren't enough, theres this accursed FOG!" Yelled the stocky man, attempting to climb onto the top of the wagon to get a better view of the area.

"Quiet...You never know what lays in wait in a forest like this..." Said a brawny man, a Claymore on his armor-covered back, before smacking the foot of Aegis, causing him to wake up. "What was that for?" Aegis mumbled groggily, still half-asleep. "You shouldn't sleep at a time like this. We may come to depend on you in the near future, and sleeping would not be wi-" The brawny one said, as Aegis hopped out of the cart during mid-sentence. "...Where are you going?" "Bathroom! I didn't have a chance to go before we left. Someone shoulda at least have woken me up!" Aegis yelled, excusing himself behind a tree.

The rumbling of the wagon wheels faded as Aegis decided to relieve himself on the side of a tree. "Phew...Now I feel better. Was that all?" He said, adjusting his clothing before he noticed something different.

Where was the sound of the wagon? It had only been mere moments, it couldn't have gotten very far. Puzzled, Aegis followed the horse tracks on the ground, at least hoping to catch up. "Guys? Hey!? You out there? Wait for me!" He yelled out, hearing no response. The horse tracks seemed to stop abruptly the further he walked in the forest, and continued off in another direction along with a few footprints, and a straight line, seemingly as if a horse had been spooked and ran off, dragging something with it.

"Odd...Why are there no wheel tracks? And these footprints are odd as well..." Aegis thought to himself, following this new trail in another direction. Compass directions didn't seem to matter much, everything looked the same other than these tracks. Upon reaching a small cliffside, Aegis climbed down it, being careful not to fall.

There was a large stump, and a cave opening formed out of a tree trunk further ahead. This area was vastly different from the plain grass and tree terrain of the forest. Perhaps this led somewhere, perhaps the others had found it as well? Venturing inside, Aegis found additional stumps, about five more lined up, and a cave opening at the back. "Another opening..? This doesn't make any sense..". But without any further thinking, Aegis leaped from one stump to the other, crossing to the other side. The cave opening was dark, and seemed to press on for minutes, but the sound of his breaths echoing signalled to him that there was a large, open area ahead. Aegis stopped moving, and noticed there wasn't anymore floor ahead of him to walk, just a big drop into darkness. "Ah, geez...The one time i'm prepared.." He said to himself, before firmly attaching the grappling hook into the wall beside him, slipping the rope down into the abyss. Taking a deep breath, he jumped off, and began to rappel down, albeit slowly. Either his mind was playing tricks on him, but he swore in the corner of his eye he could see...Shapes and colors? Some appeared to just hover around, others zoomed in on him, nearly causing him to fall. It took roughly two minutes to reach the bottom. He attached the end of the rope into a side of the wall and turned around.

What a strange room this was. What appeared to be two bright lights were shining on opposite sides of the ceiling, casting an array of shapes onto a 'stage' of some sorts on the ground. A large door lay closed on the opposite side. There was a small, shallow pond beneath his feet, complete with a large flower.

Up ahead was a large door, even by his standards. There appeared to be a rather intricate design chalked onto the wood, a menacing face of some sorts. The light flickered as two torches burnt next to the door. With a shove, the wood creaked, and Aegis managed to lift the door up, and enter the tunnel behind it, dropping the door with a loud slam.

The next room was a rather thin tunnel, odd green and white paintings occupying the sides. Following the snaking tunnel to the right, he found another room. Another large, open room. Some stone design could be seen on the moss-covered floor, a platform with another door on the opposite side of the room.

"How am I supposed to get over there? I don't have any more rope..." Aegis asked himself, taking a moment to kneel and rest. "I wonder where I am? This is nowhere near the Forest Temple...Ooh, maybe I discovered some ancient ruins? I'll get plenty of rupees for this! But...Is there any treasure here I can get to?" He pondered, greed occupying his mind instead of his predicament. He simply shrugged it off for now, and jumped onto the ground, landing a bit harder than he'd want to have. Reaching a hand to rub off some of the dust and moss covering the stone underneath, he didn't find anything of interest, just some random designing. Time to press on, he thought.

With a good leap, he managed to climb up to the platform, and entered through the sliding door on the opposite side of the room. Beyond he found something amazing. This next room was filled with thick tree branches extending to the ceiling, what seemed like a nearly bottomless pit underneath him. At least four of these tree branches were broken, and seemed like platforms.

Aegis' eyes spotted an open chest, and this sight caused him to sigh. "So much for treasure..." While he scanned to the far right, he saw another opening, and what looked like a disfigured tree. Somehow he managed to climb the thick tree branches, jumping onto the walkable platforms and made his way over.

Upon making his way over, he got a good, close look of the tree. It seemed rather dark, and gloomy compared to the rest of the caves. Why was it there? Why did it look so human-like?

There wasn't anything he could do now, so he pressed onward, leaving the tree and entering through the tunnel.

There were a few tree roots blocking the way of this tunnel, but past them he could have sworn he saw a figure at the opposite end, slowly walking and huddling itself, as if frightened.

"Hey! Wait up, who are you?" He yelled out, but the figure vanished from sight into the darkness at the opposite end. Feeling as if he had to follow this figure and wasting no time, he cut past the tree roots and sprinted through the tunnel, the tunnel seeming to 'unwind' as he got closer to the exit. He continued his mad sprint until the darkness faded, the sound of water and rusted gears could be heard.

His running quickly stopped when he finally saw the source of the sound. Water flowed into a waterwheel, causing it itself to spin, as well as many gears winding up a stairway. "Why is this here?" He asked himself, before turning around to see if he missed anything in the previous chamber, but instead, he walked right into a stone wall that wasn't there before. It was blocking his path!

"Ouch...Am I going insane?" He said, before rubbing his forehead and continuing up the stairs. These rusted gears continued to grind, the occasional sound of rust scraping against rust echoing, as well as drops of water. He nearly stumbled as he walked on the warped, moist wood, before turning up the stairs. A single shaft of wood turned and turned, gears up above turning with it. There was a certain 'ticking' in the air, but he couldn't discern what it was just yet. In the corner of his eye, once again, he swore he saw that same figure from the tunnel, walking through the semi-parted doorway. This time his eyes noticed the faint color of green. He pressed onward, and pushed apart the double doors, and was confounded at what he saw next.

A town! An entire town! A rather large, yet incomplete tower stood far in front of him, and the sound of a bell tolling from up above. He seemed to be in the middle of some plaza, the building he was just in revealed to be a Clock Tower. The ticking sound was the noise caused by the rotating clock face.

"I...I have to still be asleep. A town...in the forest? But I climbed down...How-" he nearly finished his sentence when he noticed a few more things. Where were all the people? The town was quite empty, not a single soul apart from his own. And the sky? The sky was a rather dark red color, and cloudy. A few stars could be seen shining through the cloud layer. The ominous sky, and the lack of people felt off. Did something happen here? It wasn't just that, the entire town looked as if no one had lived there for years. Grass was growing through cracks in the stone roads, collapsed signs and posts, as well as overgrown shrubbery and trees.

In the shadows, a figure watched Aegis, eyeing his every move. "Ohoho, so another soul ventures into this fading realm. Perhaps he is the one I need...I can linger a while longer I suppose, ohoho.."


	2. The first night

Night of the First Day. The search continues.

This town seemed...Off. Buildings were cracked, corroded, and just looked like nobody had lived there for years. There was no wind, no sound at all except his own breathing.

What happened here? Where is here? Aegis moved on, taking a few steps into the rather large plaza. Suddenly, he felt cold. That green shape he saw before seemed to walk through his torso, and out the other side. When he turned around, the town was alive once more. But there was a certain fog in the corners of his eyes. A festival tower in-progress could be seen in the center plaza, carpenters scramming around to finish the project in a rush. A small sprite flew around the short, brown colored, and green clothed being.

"Geez, that Mask Guy gave me the creeps...Well. Even if we don't sleep, that gives us a measly 72 hours to find his mask. Talk about a hurry! So get a move on and find the Skull Kid! He has to be around here somewhere." Said the light-gold colored fairy, which hovered about the tiny Deku Scrub's body, before retreating into his hat. The Deku Scrub child nodded his head, and proceeded off into the busy town. Aegis was puzzled at this. Was this that same being he noticed in the caves?

Aegis walked up to a town guard, introducing himself, yet the guard didn't seem to acknowledge him at all. He tried to tap him on the shoulder, but instead his hand went directly through the guard.

"What is this? One minute it's lifeless, the next...Are these memories?" He asked himself, before hurrying up to catch up to the Deku Scrub child.

The child had alot to do in just three days. Saving the Great Fairy, playing Tag with the Bombers, witnessing the location of this mysterious Skull Kid, and giving the Moon's Tear to another Deku Scrub. But finally it was the final and third night. Aegis followed the child up the Clock Tower, onto the face of the clock itself, the skull kid hovering in mid-air, tossing a small blue instrument in his hands.

"Okay, we're finally here. Now can you please give us back the mask, Skull Kid? Pretty please?" Said the light gold fairy, hovering about the Deku Scrubs head.

The Skull Kid said nothing, and his own purple fairy hovered in front of him, yelling out. "Swamp, Mountain, Ocean, Canyon. Hurry Tatl, the four who are there, bring them here..." Said the purple fairy, before being interrupted by a smack from the Skull Kid, yelling out. "Don't speak out of LINE! Stupid fairy!"

The gold fairy chimed in, startled at this. "Noo! What are you doing to my brother? Tael!" She said out loud in desperation. The Skull Kid simply chuckled to himself, and turned his gaze to the large, frightening moon that hovered just miles above their heads. "Even if they did come here, they wouldn't be able to stop me now...O' Majora's Mask, grant me my wish. Closer...Come closer!" The Skull Kid yelled out suddenly at the moon, which seemed to be pulled further closer to the earth.

The earth began to shake beneath their feet, but the Deku Scrub boldly shot a bubble from his mouth at the Skull Kid, who recoiled back and dropped the blue instrument. Aegis watched as the child picked up the now-revealed Ocarina, and held it closely. The fairy Tatl boinged herself against the child's head. "What are you doing, lost in memories? Oh someone help us, someone...Goddess of Time, we need more time!" She yelled out in horror as the moon hurtled closer to the earth, the clock tower beginning to sway back and forth as gravity fought itself.

The child nodded his head, and the Ocarina transformed into a golden light, turning into an instrument of the Deku, a Tuba. A beautiful song was played on the wooden instrument, that seemed to transcend time itself. Aegis watched silently as the world around him seemed to reverse. The moon seemed to propel itself back into the sky, and the tower beneath them reverted back to its original form. He could see everything happening in reverse. The child quickly walking backwards as time itself backed up three entire days.

"The Ocarina of Time...But only the Royal Family possesses this.." Aegis asked himself, as he walked back into the clock tower with the Deku Child.

"Ah, I see you have returned your precious item back to whom it came from...As I promised, I shall assist you in gaining your original form, young one." Said a rather thin man, an abnormally large bag on his back. Walking to the back of the basement, he sat himself onto a long organ, and played a simple song of six notes. The Deku Scrub child repeated the song on his own Tuba, and something miraculous happened.

His body became enveloped in a pink light, and his form changed. Where there was once a small, frightened Deku Scrub, there was a strong, young human boy clad in green, sword and shield in hand. A mask resembling the face of his previous form fell off of his face and onto the ground, being picked up by the Mask Salesman.

"This song heals the sorrows of all those who hear its divine notes and turns them into masks. I am sure it shall be useful to you...But you must hurry. You must retrieve Majora's Mask from that foul imp...If he is left to his own selfish desires, this world will be destroyed in rock and flame! You must hurry! Please! I beg of you...You'll do it? I knew you would tell me that. You'll be fine, surely you can do it...Believe in your strengths, just believe.." The Mask Salesman said, before the child nodded his head, and sprinted out.

The memories seemed to fade now, and Aegis once again found himself in a corroding and dying town.

"So, another visitor enters this dying land. Are you here to save it from its destined fade?" Said the Mask Salesman from behind Aegis, his creepy stare piercing Aegis' very soul.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Demanded Aegis, who was tired of playing these mind games.

"This land has since lost its purpose, and no longer has a name. You've seen it, haven't you? Lifeless, empty, completely devoid of life...But there is still hope. If not for the land, but for the reason it was created." Said the Mask Salesman, taking a slight bow to look at Aegis.

"And that is...?" Asked Aegis.

"You will discover this on your own. I too must abide by the laws, and vanish as well...Ohoho. Do not be alarmed. Believe in your strengths, and you will solve the mystery..." Said the Mask Man, who seemed to fade before his very eyes, leaving behind a note, and a familiar blue instrument. Rushing over, Aegis opened the note and stowed the Ocarina bearing the mark of the Royal Family.

"Day 1: I have finally found it at long last! Majora's Mask...I can feel the evil energy still lurking inside of it, I must keep it safe. These woods sure are spooky, but I am sure I will make my return to Hyrule safe and sound. Day 2: Stolen! It was stolen from me by an imp! I must find it! I must get it back! I've managed to track the imp to a strange, foreign land.. Day 3: It has been returned by a young boy in green that I once met at my own shop in Hyrule. The evil seems to have vanished from the mask altogether, curious isn't it? But alas, I am no longer able to return to Hyrule. It seems I have met with a terrible fate...I wonder if the boy knows this as well? Did he return to Hyrule? Or did he too suffer the same fate as I, unable to return? Perhaps someone else will find us, and save us from ourselves. Last I saw, he was headed off in the direction of the Southern Swamp..." The note read. Aegis scratched at his head and stowed it away too. But then he noticed the bag that the salesman had on his back. Scrounging around in it, he found the Mask in particular. Majora's Mask. The colors on the wood seemed to have greatly faded, and the mask itself seemed blank, empty, almost. He decided to take it with him, and placed it onto his belt, attaching it.


End file.
